Dr. Wei-Shin Lai Named Pennsylvania's Small Business Person of the Year

I often hear people say that their best ideas come to them at night in bed. For Dr. Wei-Shin Lai, a nighttime idea has truly paid off. As the founder and CEO of AcousticSheep, Lai has been named Pennsylvania's small business person of the year.

The story of Lai's invention is chronicled on the AcousticSheep website. From 2007 to present, the company has gone from Lai and her husband, Jason Wolfe, to 24 employees, and from headphones for comfortable nighttime use to a newer line of headphones for runners.

This award is exciting both for AcousticSheep and for our community. Accomplishments like theirs are proof that ingenuity and innovation are alive and well in Erie. Lai sets a great example for those of us locally who have ideas --but perhaps say, "I can't do anything with that. I need to be in a bigger city."

This is a victory for all of the people in Erie who work to make the city viable and bring innovation and reinvention to the area. The people who are contributing to the conversation through trial and error, looking for ways to spur growth in and around the community.

I caught a show at PACA a couple of weeks ago, and as Mark Tanenbaum was opening the show, he was also announcing shows that other area theater groups were perfoming. He pointed out that other theater companies are not competition, but that the arts are meant to work together and support each other. I think that in the area of business and innovation, this also rings true. It is so very important to come together and celebrate the achievements of each member of our community.

And now it's time to celebrate Wei-Shin Lai's creative, forward-thinking vision, and her courage in believing in an idea and bringing it to fruition.